Advent: a time of 'active waiting'

By SISTER VICTORIA BATTELL, RSM- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and without Him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in Him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it" (John 1:1-5).

The prologue to John's Gospel mentioned above is a beautiful and mystical exposition of the action of a healing God in the world. It is like the overture to an opera, giving a taste of what will be unfolded in the story to come.

The first 18 verses of John's Gospel tell of a God whose mystery and power span the cosmos, beyond space and time, yet whose love and desire for humanity is made manifest in the most real way: in the person of Jesus, the Word made flesh (John 1:14).

Advent is the perfect time to ponder the wonder of God as revealed in the prologue. Advent is a season that encourages us to embrace the darkness and chaos of a world aching and waiting for the Light, which will bring clarity, hope and new life. For humans, this is a courageous and sacrificial way to live: to wait for authentic Love.

As we look at the world around us, we see uncertainty, poverty, injustice and need on such a scale that we can feel powerless to bring about change and influence the lives of others for the better. This situation is real, and we seek God for immediate answers.

Yet, the season of Advent invites us simply to wait for the Lord, whose day is near. In a world where immediate answers and gratification are demanded, a command to wait can seem unreasonable and unacceptable, but wait we must.

The desolation that comes with chaos can breed fear and mistrust of ourselves, God and those around us, often forcing us to seek our own ways of coping, plunging us into isolation and a breakdown of community -- the very cause of many of the problems the world is presenting us.

The first lines of the prologue speak of a different reality: the reality of a God who is present, and a communion of persons between God and the Word, generating new life in the Spirit.

God holds out to us that, in a time of uncertainty and darkness, what is meaningful and real is presence: the power of loving energy, sent forth into the world, bringing life and light to others.

The call of Advent is not a passive and powerless waiting, but an active Word of hope that can bring the reality of God into the lives of others while we wait to experience God in fullness.

(Sister Victoria is associate vice president for student life and mission integration at Maria College in Albany, where she also teaches theology, spirituality and bereavement studies courses.)[[In-content Ad]]